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Hi Hajin~ How are you doing?
These days I've only been playing against people 1 rank lower than me on KGS. I consider it a study of their strengths and weaknesses. Lately I am on a big winning streak, 15 games~! As you can imagine it's a great ego boost. Actually everything I do feels great these days. I think it's because of my positive feelings towards Baduk! A few weeks ago I was losing my games 50/50 and it felt terrible..
I realized that the way I feel now during this winning streak is how I always want to feel! I don't want to stop playing Go, but if I continue than my winning streak will be broken and I will feel bad. I don't want to feel bad!
How can I trick myself into feeling that losing doesn't matter? I don't know how to take a logical approach to something based on my emotions..! Help~!
Thanks~Jayme
These days I've only been playing against people 1 rank lower than me on KGS. I consider it a study of their strengths and weaknesses. Lately I am on a big winning streak, 15 games~! As you can imagine it's a great ego boost. Actually everything I do feels great these days. I think it's because of my positive feelings towards Baduk! A few weeks ago I was losing my games 50/50 and it felt terrible..
I realized that the way I feel now during this winning streak is how I always want to feel! I don't want to stop playing Go, but if I continue than my winning streak will be broken and I will feel bad. I don't want to feel bad!
How can I trick myself into feeling that losing doesn't matter? I don't know how to take a logical approach to something based on my emotions..! Help~!
Thanks~Jayme
2010.09.26 01:01:55
For me, its not even about winning or losing, it is about playing my best. If I do something I know I should have been able to avoid and lose, I feel really terrible. If my opponent goes down a line of play that is really beneficial to me because he/she doesn't see it, and I win because of it, I don't really feel happy at all. Only when I feel like I played my best do I feel good. Actually, when I feel like I played my best and still lose, I secretly get happy, because I take these games and get them reviewed. I don't know why I lost, so I ask questions and I become stronger because of it.
Its ok to have strong emotions after a stupid loss. But I don't think its a good idea to open the reviewer function and start slamming out variations. Its better to have backup plan, just minimize program and go take a walk. Then come back and review and you can actually learn something :)Hajin, if you are playing a TV game, sometimes its not easy to escape after a loss, maybe you have to do an interview? How can you compose yourself then?
Its ok to have strong emotions after a stupid loss. But I don't think its a good idea to open the reviewer function and start slamming out variations. Its better to have backup plan, just minimize program and go take a walk. Then come back and review and you can actually learn something :)Hajin, if you are playing a TV game, sometimes its not easy to escape after a loss, maybe you have to do an interview? How can you compose yourself then?



When I was an insei, I had this two contradict feelings; I didn't want to play because I was afraid of losing, but I wanted to win. Fortunately, at the time, I didn't really have a choice whether I would play or not. There always were playing schedules, and I couldn't avoid them. After becoming a pro, although I still get quite stressed out, I no longer fear defeats.
For most baduk players, as far as I know, the feeling of depression when they lose is bigger than the good feeling from victories. It may seem stressful, but this is the main source of many players' motivation for improving their skills. Consequently, the people who get stressed more from defeats tend to improve faster than less-stressed players. Thus, my point is, feeling bad when you lose games is not that bad. On the contrary, if you feel quite OK even if you lose, you may not feel excited by winning. Playing Go is like playing a sport. Don't you think it would be a bit boring without the thrill of competition? :)